Explanation: This consulate covers TN, Kerala, and Karnataka. This consulate is headed by Suraj Shantakumar.

2017 marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan has expressed confidence that the establishment of the consulate in Chennai, which is a major industrial centre would promote the potential for economic cooperation in a number of areas like IT industry, engineering, tourism, transport infrastructure, as well as agricultural production.

Among the countries that made up the former USSR, Kazakhstan has emerged as the second largest economic partner for India.

Explanation: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled translated volumes of Vachana in 23 Indian languages on the occasion of Basava Jayanti.

The 23 Vachana volumes were edited by late M M Kalburgi and have been translated into other languages by more than 200 people. P

Prime Minister also released the digital version of the work.

This is the first ever celebration of Basava Jayanti at the national level.

The translated volumes of Vachana was commissioned by the Basava Samithi at a cost of INR 2.5 crore rupees of which the Karnataka government has contributed 1 crore rupees.

The celebrations also coincide with golden jubilee of Basava Samiti that was set up by former Vice President B D Jatti 1964 to spread in Basavannas message.

Vachana and Basavanna: Know More

Vachana is a prosaic form very much popular in the Kannada literature.

It propagates values of universal brotherhood.

It was penned by Basavanna and other saints.

The 12th-century social reformer Basavanna used this style of writing to spread social awareness and bring equality in the 12th-century society.

Basavanna was a 12th-century philosopher, statesman, Kannada poet and a social reformer who lived in Karnataka during the reign of the Kalachuri-dynasty king Bijjala I.

He served as the chief minister of his kingdom.

Basavanna rejected gender or social discrimination, superstitions and rituals.

During his tenure as Chief Minister, he introduced many new public institutions like Anubhava Mantapa (“hall of spiritual experience”) that would facilitate men and women from all socio-economic backgrounds to have a healthy and open discussion on various spiritual topics.

A 13th-century sacred Telugu text, the Basava purana by Palkuriki Somanatha offers a full account of Basava’s life and ideas.

In 2003, former President of India Abdul Kalam inaugurated Basaveshwar’s statue in the Parliament of India.

In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the statue of Basaveshwara along the bank of the river Thames in London.

7) Under which initiative will boarding pass and security checks in airports will involve Aadhaar and cell phones?

Apart from these locations, with the help of Ganga Vichaar Manch, local NGOs and volunteer support, the event is slated to be organized at more than 30 other locations.

The objective of the event is to spread awareness and promote active involvement of the masses in Swachh Ganga.

The event envisages developing a sense of stewardship among masses and to actively support for Namami Gange programme.

Ganga Vichar Manch which is a volunteer wing of National Mission on Clean Ganga (NMCG) would execute the event in close coordination with State Programme Management Groups, State Government Departments/Agencies, District Administration and other key stakeholders.

In March 2017, NMCG observed 16 days long ‘Ganga Swachhta Pakhwada’ along with five Ganga Basin States.

NMCG is organizing ‘Ganga Swachhta Sankalp Divas’ by considering the overwhelming success with active participation of various communities in the pakhwada.

NMCG: Know More

National Mission for Clean Ganga(NMCG) is the implementation wing of National Ganga River Basin Authority(NGRBA) set up under Min. of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in 2011.

It now works under the control of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, as per revised allocation business rules of 2014. The aim is to clean Ganga and its tributaries in a comprehensive manner.

Uma Bharti is the present Minister for Ministry for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India.

Namami Gange a program led by the Modi’s government undertaken in July 2014 Budget with an estimated budget of INR 20,000 Crores.

Namami Gange focuses on abatement of pollution with a radical approach to ensure pure water quality and sustainable development.

9) How many communication satellites is SRO going to launch by the end of 2017?

Explanation: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is going to launch five communication satellites by the end of 2017.

The main aim behind the launch is to improve the communication system within the country.

The specific use of the satellites would be to improve the number of available transponders for communications.

The move is expected to significantly enhance India’s communication capability.

An overview of the number of satellites launched by the space organisation and the purpose of each satellite in the areas of disaster management, weather forecasting, space exploration, education, agriculture and geo-spatial applications was also provided.

India is the only country to achieve the feat of having a large number of satellites.

ISRO along with the government has made it mandatory for all aircrafts to have a GPS-aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system by 2019 to ensure safety and precision landing.

Apart from this, ISRO plans to make an inventory and site management plan for 4000 heritage sites in India.

The organisation also helped India break the record for launching most satellites from a single rocket by launching 104 satellites in one go in February 2017.

GAGAN: Know More

The GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) is an implementation of a regional satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) by the Indian government.

It is a system to improve the accuracy of a GNSS receiver by providing reference signals.

Project cost?: ?INR 7.74 billion (US$120 million)

Fully operational by?: ?2013-14

Launched?: ?2011-2012

10) Which 101 year old athlete on 27th April 2017 became the oldest person to sky walk around Auckland’s sky tower?